H.H. Pope St. Pius X: On Catholic Action

Lucio J. Mascarenhas.

"Catholic Action is directed towards the defense of and the revindication of the rights of the Roman Pontiff... for where the pope is, there is the Church. The more open the war against the pope is, the more open, the more active, the more resolute should Catholic Action be in defending and maintaining the inviolable rights of the Sovereign Pontiff. In other times, it was the popes who intervened in defense of their children... today, it must be the children wh will rise up in defense of their Father, the laity in defense of the hierarchy... Catholic Action will not please certain timid souls... so attached to their habitual quiet and so afraid of every innovation that they believe it quite sufficient to pray.

"Others who, in order to justify their inertia, give up the world for lost. We have been like to rabbits; too frightened of everything and everyone... in order not to give offense. To whom could give offense? To the bad... and to good people who shrink from innovations... As the bad unite, so also must the good... These innovations... are desired by the Vicar of Christ and he who does not obey the Pope, does not obey God.

"These good people will wait in vain for Society to re-Christianize itself simply by the prayers of the good... Japan would never have been converted by the prayers alone of Xavier, the apostles would never have conquered the world, if they had not done the work of heroes and martyrs. It is necessary, therefore, to join prayer with action.

"Catholic Action has been commanded by the Pope, who has signified his own mind in so many ways, and that is enough for us to be sure that it is the will of God also. One would need, then, a pretty dose of temerity and pride to say that a work, which has been commanded by the Pope and is the will of God, is useless and of no avail... difficulties will be found, but what good work has there ever been which has not encountered difficulties? Where there is good will, all difficulties will vanish and even when it seems that we are face to face with the impossible, if there is a will, there will be a way..."

Restoring All Things: A Guide to Catholic Action, John Fitzsimons and Paul Maguire, pp. 107-110, quoted in Will The Catholic Church Survive The Twentieth Century?, Benns & Bawden, pp. 325-326.
Lucio J. Mascarenhas. Good Friday. 18th April 2003.
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